


Doing It Right

by EyesOverEons



Category: Bleach
Genre: Action, Gen, light humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29329614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyesOverEons/pseuds/EyesOverEons
Summary: "You'll get your Bankai back over my dead body. I mean that literally." Rukia is in for a shock when she stumbles across Ichigo training with Zangetsu.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Lily D. Cave and her story "The Meaning of Being King" for inspiring me to write this
> 
> Check out her cool story here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13751947/1/The-Meaning-of-Being-King

_Hollow!_

Rukia woke up with a start, nearly smacking her head against the wall as she fought against the tangle of sheets. She had been having a wonderfully dreamless sleep when the sudden oppressive reiatsu of a powerful hollow invaded her senses and forced her awake. The feeling was already fading quickly, but the lingering sharpness was still undeniable. She forced her frazzled mind to slow for a second, choking back her fight-or-flight reflex. She checked her phone, dimly noting that no alerts had come in.

_Did I dream that?_ She blinked a few times. No, if she concentrated, she could still feel the echoes of the sinister energy buzzing in the air. There was definitely a hollow nearby, and it felt terrifyingly strong. She forcefully slid open the door to the closet she was staying in, mouth open to call out "Ichigo!" and wake the teen to deal with the new threat. The words caught in her throat as she stared at the empty room. Ichigo was gone.

Fear crept into her veins and she wasted no time ditching her gigai and leaping out the window in a burst of shunpo. Ichigo's energy hung over the town like a dense fog and it took Rukia a second to locate its source: somewhere just outside of town to the south. It flickered and roared in a way that only happened when he was in battle. Rukia poured every ounce of speed into her flash step, forcing aside her rising panic as she felt hollow reiatsu- _the same hollow reiatsu_ \- pulsing ominously in the same direction.

The sight that greeted her when she arrived in the small forest clearing instantly put her on high alert. Her sword was drawn before she could think about it. Ichigo was leaping around the trees, dodging and evading a small blur of white and black. Occasionally he would chance a swing with one of his blades at his opponent, though the swipe was easily deflected. He was gasping for breath and blood ran down his skin from multiple injuries. Rukia winced in sympathy at a particularly deep cut on his left arm. The black and white hollow was ruthless in its attack, barely giving Ichigo time to react to the onslaught.

_How long has he been fighting? How did I not notice this threat earlier? Why didn't that idiot wake me up!? I could have helped him!_ Despite her racing thoughts, she frowned. If Ichigo was having this much trouble, what use would she be- _No!_ She wouldn't allow herself to think that way. She couldn't afford to doubt her abilities. Not when there was a threat to deal with. Firming her resolve, she released her sword, feeling the cold seep through her body. A light breeze picked up, fluttering the snow white ribbon as she prepared an attack. She only had one chance if she wanted to maintain the element of surprise. All she needed was an opening.

Rukia's eyes narrowed as the hollow hesitated for the briefest of moments. _Now_. In a flash, she released all of her stored energy in a devastating Hakuren. Wide-eyed, Ichigo barely managed to evade the sudden rush of snow and ice. The hollow was less lucky, being encased entirely in the attack.

"Ichigo! Hurry! Finish it!" Rukia yelled. It wasn't over. She had made that mistake before with hollows far weaker than this one. Hopefully, the ice would delay their foe for a few precious seconds.

"Rukia? Wait-" Ichigo's voice called out, finally noticing her presence.

The sound of shattering ice filled the air as the hollow broke free. Their chance to end the fight quickly had passed. Unfortunately for Rukia, her annoyance at the missed opportunity was quickly replaced by something darker and far more primal. Faster than she could blink, the hollow had vanished from her vision, appearing right behind Ichigo, running him through with a white sword. Ichigo sputtered and cursed at the blade protruding from his chest, the fire fading quickly from his eyes.

The scream tore its way through Rukia's throat before she could stop herself. The hollow roughly kicked Ichigo off of his sword- _Sword! How does it have a sword!? It's wearing white. Arrancar?_ \- and the teen collapsed unceremoniously to the ground. Faster than she had ever moved, she lunged forward, grabbing him as he fell before continuing past the hollow to stop at a ( _hopefully_ ) safe distance. Carefully, she laid Ichigo down while trying her best not to aggravate his wounds. Judging from the blood gushing out it looked like the wound hit his heart. His breathing was shallow and obviously pained.

_NO NO NONONONONO!_

Her hands trembled as the hollow slowly turned to face her. The black skull-like mask presented a mocking grin. _What is this monster!?_ The pure killing intent pouring off of it made her feel like there was a knife already at her throat. Her breath was ragged with barely-restrained panic, made only more obvious by the cloud of frost it condensed into.

The hollow started walking towards her with a casual stride. The bloodied tip of the blade dragged against the ground.

Rukia forced her breathing to even. If she were to die, she would do so with pride and dignity. She was a _Kuchiki_. Cowering was beneath her. Now standing, she stared at the hollow in front of her, her sword gripped firmly in her hand. Defiant.

The hollow stopped, tipping its head to the side at the sudden change in her demeanor.

Another deep breath. _It'll be hard not to hurt Ichigo with him so close, but I have no other choice._ "Ban-"

"Knock it off!" Ichigo's angry voice shouted out from behind her.

Both Rukia and the hollow froze.

Rukia chanced a glance behind her, startled to see the orange-haired man pushing himself up to a standing position. "Hold on! You're injured! I need to-" Her eyes widened as she watched the devastating wound begin to seamlessly stitch itself back together. Ichigo took a step forward, bringing him in-line with Rukia.

Then he took another step.

_What?_

Steadily... Confidently... _Without his swords_... Ichigo approached the hollow who had begun growling deeply.

"What are you doing!?" Rukia's pleas were ignored.

"I said... _Knock it off!"_ With a frustrated snarl, Ichigo gripped one of the angular horns, leaned back slightly, and promptly headbutted the hollow.

_...WHAT?_

The hollow stumbled back, bringing a hand up to cup its injured head. With that seemingly taken care of, Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Hey. Sorry about that."

She couldn't resist the urge to punch him in the face.

It was Ichigo's turn to lose his balance as a hand shot up to his bloody nose. "Hey! What in the world was _that_ for!?"

"Idiot! That's _my_ line! What's gotten into you? We don't have time to relax!" She stole a glance at the hollow. It hadn't moved much. Instead, it gingerly prodded at the newly-formed cracks in its mask. The growling hadn't stopped.

Ichigo glanced between them for a moment before narrowing his eyes at the hollow. "Will you shut it!?" He threw a half-hearted punch that was easily dodged. "Quit laughing at me."

_Laughing? That scary growling sound is laughing?_

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo's question was directed at Rukia.

She just about lost it, her own hysterical and panicked laughing threatening to break her Kuchiki facade. "There was a hollow. You were injured. I-I felt your reiatsu. You..." _You almost died..._ "...you just headbutted it. Why is it _laughing? What is happening?"_

Ichigo couldn't help the nervous blush that spread across his face. "Oh. Uh. Guess I should explain." He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to ignore the absolutely murderous glare from Rukia. "...Yeah. There's a simple explanation but you're probably not gonna like it..."

"I like being in the dark even less."

"I'm training."

Rukia eyed the hollow suspiciously, still wary. It hadn't moved an inch but the growling- laughing had finally stopped.

"Look, I'm sure I've told you about my sword before but I know it's pretty jarring to see in person, so I can't fault you for reacting so negatively to him." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the hollow. "Believe it or not, that hollow bastard is my zanpakuto. Well, he's part of it at least."

She couldn't help it. Her composure shattered. Collapsing to the ground as the tension left her body, tears ran down her face as she failed to stop the broken laugh that barked out of her. The stupidly simple explanation to a situation that had thrown her into nearly a blind panic grated on her mind.

"You gotta admit, it _is_ pretty funny." A warbled voice spoke.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Ichigo snapped back, bending down over his fallen friend. "And take that stupid mask off. I can barely understand you with it on."

Rukia managed to look up in time to see the hollow scoff and wave a dismissive hand. Nevertheless, the black and white mask instantly dissolved into nothing. Piercing golden eyes bore into her. The predatory gaze made her feel even more vulnerable than before.

She sucked in a gasp and took in the being in front of her. Hollow eyes. Long hair. White everything. It was terrifying. But that face... that scowl... it was all so familiar. She knew it wasn't, but she couldn't stop her voice: "...Ichigo?

A wild grin split the hollow's face, instantly destroying the resemblance. "Not even close! Come on now... that idiot even _told_ you who I am." His voice still held the hollow echo, but without the mask the whole tone became brighter.

She bit back a scathing retort. As much as her instincts were screaming to run or fight, she once again leveled her gaze. This was Ichigo's zanpakuto; he should be given the same respect as any sword spirit was owed. "I apologize... Zangetsu-sama."

The sharp grin softened marginally as the hollow was named. He folded his arms, radiating smug pride. " _Sama_ , huh? That's more like it!" He turned to his wielder, "Hey King! You should learn some manners from your girlfriend!"

The two shinigami flushed red. "She's not my _girlfriend!"_

Zangetsu rolled his eyes.

"-And I am not calling you Zangetsu- _sama._ "

"Ass." His voice was flat but amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Shut up."

Rukia watched the exchange in stunned silence. Ichigo had told her the truth about his sword before they had left the Zero Division to fight against the Quincy ruler, but she personally hadn't given much thought on what the specifics of all that entailed. She hadn't expected the reiatsu to feel so completely hollow. She hadn't expected him to have a human form either. She hadn't expected- though she probably should have- for the two of them to be so seemingly antagonistic. She cleared her throat to bring the attention back to herself. "So. Care to tell me why you're in the middle of the woods at night training with your hollowfied sword without telling anyone?"

"One word: Bankai." It was Zangetsu who answered, slinging the large white blade over his shoulder.

_How had I not recognized that sword earlier?_ She realized it probably had something to do with the shock of seeing Ichigo impaled. Her brow furrowed as she finally processed what Zangetsu had said. "Bankai? Don't you already have bankai?"

Ichigo dropped his gaze, looking like he would very much rather be anywhere else. "Yeah... about that..."

"Not anymore, he doesn't!" Zangetsu took a closed fist and thumped the top of Ichigo's head, his grin replaced by a snarl. "Sure, he got his sword re-forged with his proper source of power. But then he went and fought those Quincies..." Zangetsu continued his minor abuse as he spoke "-and he-" _thump_ "-kept on-" _thump_ **"-breaking me!"** _THUMP_. Genuine anger seeped into his voice like a poison. He hit his wielder a few more times to emphasize the point. Ichigo stood and took the punishment.

"I said I was sorry, alright!? It's not my fault Yhwach used some crazy time-magic to keep snapping my sword!"

Zangetsu ignored his wielder but mercifully ended his assault. "Anyway, I revoked his bankai privileges until he learns to appreciate it properly. 'Sides, he never really earned bankai from me before. The Old Man did what he could given the circumstances, but I was never really happy with it."

It didn't take a wild imagination for Rukia to figure out what "the circumstances" were. She suppressed a shudder at the memory of her almost-execution.

"Even then, he had to use that weird doll thing that Urahara made, which is basically cheating in my opinion."

Ichigo finally spoke up. "I'm doing it right this time. No shortcuts. No interference. Just me and him." His head tipped sideways as a sudden thought came to him. "Oh, by the way... how did you find me?"

Rukia blinked, once again stunned at how someone with so much reiatsu seemed consistently clueless of his impact on the world around him. Really, she should be used to this by now. "I could feel the energy from the battle. Well... I mostly felt hollow reiatsu." She glanced at Zangetsu who seemed to beam with pride as he took her statement as a compliment.

"Guess we blew the barrier. I told that shopkeeper it wasn't strong enough!" Zangetsu said, still grinning.

"You're the one who thought it was a good idea to fire off a freaking _gran rey cero!"_

"Would you expect anything less? I told you: it's a fight to the death. I'm not gonna hold back." A sadistic smirk flashed across his face as his gold eyes narrowed.

Rukia shook her head. The two in front of her seemed almost designed to get on each others' nerves. Honestly, trying to get them to hold a steady conversation with her was like dealing with children. "Your bankai trail is a death match?" The incredulous question was aimed at both of them. She remembered her brutal training: Sode no Shirayuki forcing her to endure fighting in rapidly decreasing temperatures, pushing her limit lower and lower until she finally could survive it without even a shiver. Her sword had had a very good reason behind her harsh demand for perfection: without learning that control and resilience, Rukia's own power would have destroyed her body.

Zangetu's smirk turned murderous, the air became heavy and harsh. "That's right. I told him: 'you'll get bankai back over my dead body.' and I mean that literally. So far though, he's barely even scratched me."

A sigh escaped Ichigo. "We've been going at it every night for two weeks now. If I've seemed off lately, this is why. I haven't really had time to sleep. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't think you'd like the idea of me nearly dying night after night." Absentmindedly, his hand rubbed at the spot where Zangetsu had pierced him earlier.

"Honestly, I'm just glad I can go all-out. It's almost like when you challenged me for my mask. I guess it's a bit less fun now that you know I can't actually kill you."

"Doesn't stop you from trying." Ichigo muttered under his breath. At Rukia's concerned expression, he elaborated. "I can't die by my own blade- I figured that out when I learned Mugetsu. Doesn't mean the cuts don't hurt though. Zangetsu even figured out how to manipulate the hollow powers to make me kinda fall unconscious when he lands a hit that would be fatal."

"I make him hollowfy a bit." Zangetsu stated plainly.

Rukia looked at him with horror. Ichigo flinched slightly

"What? It's just a bit. Only enough to stop his heart for a second or two. He's fine. As if _that_ would kill him. He needs to learn that his mistakes have consequences. He's a slow learner though. Oh! King! I got an idea to speed this up!"

"Oh no."

"Oh yes! Maybe you'll be more eager to fight with your full strength if you have to beat me before you go full hollow or something."

"No."

"Come on, I'm getting tired of facing off against your half-hearted attempts. I gotta do something up the stakes a bit. I'll drag those instincts out of you if I have to."

"Absolutely not."

"You're no fun, King."

"Why does he call you 'King'?" Rukia interrupted to finally ask. It was a dumb question, but one that had was on her mind nonetheless.

"Because my wielder is a petulant child who somehow inherited more power than he knows what to do with."

Ichigo scowled, "I thought you said it was because of instincts! You had that whole speech about being a horse and stuff! Wasn't that the reason?"

_"Neigh."_

"...Was that a _freaking horse pun!?"_

Rukia shook her head. She had known Zangetsu for a relatively short amount of time and already she was getting a headache. Sudden sympathy bloomed for her orange-haired friend for having to deal with this constantly. The buzz of her phone didn't help her growing pain in her temples.

There was a text from Ishida: 'Are you ok? Felt that powerful hollow from all the way across town. Standing by as back-up.'

She quickly tapped out a reply: 'I'm fine. False alarm. Ichigo was just training without telling any of us. Again.'

'That idiot. I'll let the others know.'

Rukia mentally agreed with the Quincy's assessment of their friend. "Ichigo. Next time you go off training like this, you _really_ need to tell us. We're your friends and we get worried about you. You're never doing us any favors running off like this."

Ichigo lowered his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Fool! Feeling sorry for yourself now won't help anything! Just do better next time!" Rukia snapped. She always knew how to help her friend before he fell into a rut. "Besides, how do you expect to attain bankai with such a sour attitude?"

"Your girlfriend is right, King."

"She's not my-"

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes at the light creeping over the horizon. "-Anyway, looks like we talked up the rest of our time. Guess you'll have to try again tomorrow, Ichigo. I'll certainly be looking forward to slicing you up again." He placed a pale hand on Ichigo's shoulder. His eyes found Rukia and he gave a lazy salute with two fingers. "It was nice to finally meet you, Rukia. See ya." In a flash, he was gone, returned to his rightful place in his wielder's soul.

Silence settled on the clearing. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair with a deep sigh. "Sorry again, I know he can be a bit... much."

"Is he always like that?"

Ichigo offered a weak chuckle. "Yeah. It was certainly worse when he was threatening to take over my soul. Glad he got over that idea. Still, he really has no patience for any hesitation and wants me to be as ruthless as I can be. I just... I dunno... I don't think I'll ever be good enough for him."

Rukia was glad too.

"Judging from your face, I'm gonna guess your relationship with Sode no Shirayuki is a lot less stabby."

Rukia laughed, "Oh yeah. Anyway, I'm sure you'll get your bankai again in no time. You've never been one to give up against seemingly impossible odds. Don't worry about being good enough. Just worry about winning."

Ichigo blinked at her a few times before smiling softly at her encouragement. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Of course I am! Now let's get out of here."

The two began a comfortable walk back home, enjoying the sunrise of another new day.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a week before Ichigo attempted to regain bankai again.

Granted, that wasn't entirely his choice. After learning he had been at it for over two weeks nonstop, Rukia had all but forced him to take the (admittedly much-needed) break. As much as he hated to admit, the fights against his zanpakuto had hit a wall and were threatening to become rote. Surprisingly, the hollow spirit even begrudgingly agreed that taking time to re-center would be good.

However, as the week drew on he couldn't deny the burning anticipation of battle. It went without saying that Zangetsu felt similar. There had been few hollow attacks and none of them posed a challenge. Try as he might to deny it, Ichigo was eager for something more. Though, maybe it was simply his sword's blood-lust bleeding through their shared soul. Yeah, let's go with that.

Friday couldn't come soon enough.

The heat of the day had settled into a pleasant coolness. A light breeze played through the trees. The world was quiet under the waxing half moon.

"Are you _sure_ Urahara strengthened the barrier properly this time?" Rukia asked, glancing at the shimmering reishi walls that encompassed the forest clearing. Even though their entire friend group was aware of Ichigo's training now, she didn't think the outpouring of violent hollow energy would be a welcome feeling to any of them.

Ichigo stepped out from the trees behind her, slipping through the barrier with ease. "I hope so. Zangetsu never had much patience to begin with so he's really not happy with having to sit still for a week. He's certainly not gonna be pulling any punches."

"Does he ever?" Rukia asked rhetorically. She knew the answer to that already.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You sure you want to be here for this? I know during these fights the reiatsu can get a little- uh- _intense_."

She scoffed. "Please. I've endured it before. Besides, you don't need to worry about anything happening to me, I can take care of myself. It's you he's after." She couldn't help her smirk. In truth, she was curious. She had seen Ichigo fight on many occasions, but only when he needed to; and even then he was relatively- _understandably_ \- cautious as he focused on staying alive or keeping someone else free of harm. Usually both simultaneously. This was different: an all-out fight without the fatal consequences. The prospect intrigued her. Enough so that she had adamantly argued that she was coming along to watch.

"Alright. Don't say I didn't want you." Ichigo mused, walking to the center of the clearing. In one fluid motion, he removed the cleaver blade from his back and the smaller knife from his hip. Continuing the motion, he stabbed the larger blade into the ground and speared the second blade through the hollow portion of the first. A pulse of black energy shot up from the ground, crackling like a wildfire beneath his hands. Without hesitation, Ichigo pulled back on the short sword, creating a clean slice in the dark blaze. The flames opened up along the seam, folding backwards onto themselves. In their wake stood Zangetsu, pale hand resting on the pommel of the blade.

Rukia's heart beat heavier at the feeling of raw power that flooded the area. It took only a second for her own icy reiatsu to instinctively react and form a buffer against the harsh energy.

Zangetsu raised his head, eyes flashing and a grin already in place. "Finally trying again, huh King? You actually gonna cut me this time?" His voice dropped to a deadly quiet at the second question.

Setting his jaw, Ichigo removed his sword from the ground and nodded.

Judging by Zangetsu's brief sneer, it apparently wasn't the response he was hoping for. Gold eyes slid lazily over to Rukia, finally acknowledging her presence. Once again subject to that inhuman glare, Rukia fought back a shudder. Never in her life would she have expected to meet someone whose passive killing intent was even more potent than Kenpachi's.

"I see you brought your girlfriend." Amusement seeped back into Zangetsu's voice.

"She's not- Ugh." Ichigo sighed, forcibly stopping himself from lashing out in angry embarrassment. "She wanted to watch. Don't ask me why. That a problem?" He challenged.

Zangetsu's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment as he studied the black-haired shinigami. "Che. Whatever. As long as she's not gonna hold you back, I don't care." In a blink, his own sword was in his hands, an inverse copy of the main cleaver. He rolled his shoulders with an audible crack as the smirk fell from his face. "Alright." He settled into what could only be described as the most lazy battle stance ever. "Come on."

Brow furrowed, Ichigo launched himself forward, aiming a solid blow at Zangetsu's left side. The attempt was batted away without much effort. Another slash at his head was equally ineffective. A sharp jab from a white knife forced Ichigo to dodge a half step back. They settled into a simple rhythm of slicing and dodging.

It certainly wasn't slow, but Rukia had no problem following every single movement.

Zangetsu eventually roughly shoved Ichigo back, looking bored. "Alright. You done with your little warm-up yet?"

Ichigo smirked, "I'm surprised you let me have one."

"Heh. You've been lazing around for a whole week. If I didn't, I'd kill ya too quickly for it to be any fun." He matched his wielder's expression. "Now, you've kept me waiting long enough."

There was a shift in the air.

Ichigo and Zangetsu disappeared.

Startled, Rukia was on her feet before she realized. The two had just... vanished.

Decades of watching (and participating in) shunpo-based fights had forced her brain to be able to comprehend the lightning-fast movements. But this? This was something else.

_Ichigo's whole bankai is about speed and concentrated power. Of course this fight would be fast._ She mentally chided, sitting back down. Trying to follow them with her eyes would be useless. She would always end up looking at where they had been and only seeing the briefest flits of movement. Watching this fight would require a skill she hadn't had to use in a while: the technique she used when first learning how to watch shunpo combat.

Eyes closed, she focused on the energy signatures of the two fighters, getting a feel for it until she could mentally pinpoint their locations at all times. Locked on, she opened her eyes. Her mental focus kept track of where they were, allowing her eyes to automatically point where they needed to be. They were still blurry, but she could see them at least.

The two were blazing around; breaking apart and meeting in violent displays of brutality at speeds that would make the Goddess of Flash proud. Sparks erupted with each clash, barely having time to fade before more glistening shards of metal were added to the air. The two combatants were giving it their all. Rukia was able to catch a glimpse of Ichigo's determined scowl when a particularly heavy hit forced him to a stop for a moment. She could only guess that Zangetsu's face wore his trademark manic grin under the black-and-white mask that covered his face. Neither of them had managed to actually land a hit on the other yet.

Ichigo was the first to draw blood. He swung hard with his cleaver and was easily blocked by Zangetsu's white blade. Without giving the zanpakuto spirit time to react, Ichigo brought his secondary blade up fast; aiming at Zangetsu's neck. Realizing the feint a bit too late, Zangetsu was forced to block the short sword with his left hand. Crimson blood spilled forth, impossibly red against the pure white skin. He quickly retaliated by bringing up a leg and roughly kicking Ichigo back.

They paused, panting.

Zangetsu lifted the mask to inspect the injury with a sort of detached curiosity. "Well look at that, you actually _do_ have it in you to cut me. I was beginning to worry that week break made you soft." There was a hiss of steam as the wound closed itself.

"As if! I am going to get my bankai back, that's a promise."

The sword grinned, a sharp giddiness filling the expression, "That's what I like to hear. No holding back on me, now."

In a flash, they were back at it.

The movement of the fight was entrancing to watch. Rukia found her attention drawn to Zangetsu specifically. She had seen Ichigo fight many times: she knew his frightening power and devastating accuracy. But Zangetsu was different. His attacks were no less vicious but the way he wove around his opponent was almost... beautiful. No movement was wasted. Every block was spun into a counter, every step backwards turned into a coil of energy to launch him forward with twice as much force. The predatory grace reminded Rukia of a jaguar: all teeth and claws and muscle wrapped in velvet. He never struck the same way twice, forcing Ichigo to be constantly on his toes. Somehow he was easily holding his own with one sword against Ichigo's two; wielding his hollow cleaver expertly in each hand and switching as needed. Rukia had only ever seen Captain Commander Kyoraku exhibit that level of ambidextrous mastery.

Ichigo coated his blade with a getsuga tenshou, allowing the raging energy to enhance the attack. At the last possible moment, he let go. Zangetsu twisted to avoid the sharp edge, but could not dodge out of the way of the blast of reiatsu. A quickly charged cero negated most of the harm. A second cero forced Ichigo to change the trajectory to avoid getting his arm burnt off. Zangetsu's follow-up slash hit its mark, scoring a gash on Ichigo's right calf.

As the struggle went on, each fighter gained an assortment of wounds. The majority of which were accumulating on Ichigo. Rukia cringed when Zangetsu landed a hit to Ichigo's upper left arm. Had he not attempted a counter-thrust that forced Zangetsu to abort his attack early, Rukia was sure the limb would have been severed completely.

The two swords were locked, grating against each other. Zangetsu's foot shot out, catching Ichigo in his kneecap. The shinigami cursed, biting back the pain. It was a cheap shot, but he honestly didn't expect any less. 'All's fair in love and war' was practically one of Zangetsu's mottos- well, the hollow side at least. Ichigo knew the old man held a bit more regard for proper decorum during fights. His musings were cut short as a white sword arced down at his head. It was easily blocked, but Ichigo noticed the reiatsu flaring around it a second too late. The wordless getsuga threw him to the ground and he staggered on his injured leg.

-0-

The fight was beginning to wear on Ichigo. He was becoming sloppy.

Zangetsu seemed to agree. Not giving his wielder a second, he shot from the sky like a bullet, sword aimed directly where Ichigo was standing. The teen barely managed to slip sideways. The white sword sunk deep into the earth. Zangetsu's eyes narrowed, his wielder really was getting careless. He poured his energy into the sword and almost screamed out, " _Getsuga Tenshou_."

The attack formed a bubble of destruction around the sword, tearing up the earth and giving Ichigo only enough time for his blood to run cold as he remembered he wasn't alone in this clearing. Rukia was within the attack range.

Rukia, for what it was worth, instantly recognized her precarious situation and her mind raced to find a solution. She could counter it with a well-timed hakuren or encase herself with Tsukishiro and tank the damage. The former was preferable. She was about to follow through with her plan when Ichigo appeared in front of her; just in time for the white fire to burn through him.

He took the hit to act as a shield.

"Rukia... Are- are you alright?" Ichigo panted, glancing over his shoulder and scanning for injuries. She was fine. He, however, was not. The attack left him bleeding and in pain all over. He couldn't afford to take much more damage. Each breath stretched the singed skin of his chest, now bare as his coat was shredded.

_Fool! I could have handled it!_ Rukia was ready to shout when she caught sight of Zangetsu standing in the middle of the new crater and looking absolutely livid- mask absent and eyes as sharp as knives. Her words died in her throat. All of his sadistic glee was gone, replaced by a simmering loathing at what had just transpired.

A few things happened in rapid succession, faster than it took to blink: Zangetsu vanished, appearing right in front of his wielder. His right hand wrenched the short blade out of Ichigo's grasp, twirled it into an under-handed grip, and remorselessly sliced halfway through Ichigo's neck. A foot came up to kick the gravely injured Ichigo- sword still buried in his throat- to the ground where Zangetsu drove the white blade through his stomach, effectively pinning him down.

"I thought I told you," Zangetsu's voice was a low growl, heavy with anger, "the girl can stay and watch _'As long as she doesn't hold you back'_."

Pain exploded in Ichigo's mind, followed by a frightening numbness as shock filled his system. Zangetsu had nearly decapitated him. He tried his best to ignore the sickening scrape of harsh steel against his vertebrae. In all their fights- battle-crazed as Zangetsu was- he had never been so brutally emotionless. Or efficient. There was something terrifyingly unrecognizable in the sword's eyes. Ichigo tried to call out for him to stop, but only succeeded in making a weak gurgling sound as blood filled his lungs. Not that he would have been able to talk anyway, the attack had definitely severed his vocal chords.

Rukia watched on in abject horror at what had just unfolded in front of her.

A moment later, it got worse.

Ichigo's eyes went wide and his muscles convulsed as the hollow reiryoku invaded his body, triggering the now-familiar feeling of momentary forced hollowification that followed a fatal blow. His own reiatsu plummeted to near-extermination as the dark pulse of something more twisted wound through his veins. He could feel the sickening lurch of his heart stuttering to a halt as his vision blurred and darkened.

All the while, Ichigo repeated a mantra: _He can't kill me- He can't kill me- I'm alright-_ He clung to those thoughts like a lifeline; trying in vain to ignore the instincts screaming that he was dying. _I am **not** going to die from this- Just endure it for a bit-!_ Even as he repeated the words, the cold comfort they supplied was beginning to fade as the seconds ticked by.

Zangetsu's annoyance only grew as Ichigo weakly attempted to fight off the hollowification. There was venom in his words, "Idiot! You knew throwing yourself in front of her would lead to this. That was a stupid move and this is the consequence! So you're gonna _lie there and accept it!_ " His foot rested on the pommel of the cleaver, leaning forward and driving the weapon deeper.

Ichigo didn't give up, even as his half-lidded eyes unfocused and black seeped into the sclera. A hiss of steam started wafting off the cuts as the hollow's instant regeneration attempted to heal his broken body. But with the swords still firmly in place, it could do little to help.

"Pathetic." Zangetsu spoke, his voice now flat and emotionless.

Rukia was starting to worry. Ichigo had said he couldn't die by his own sword, but how accurate was that? The sword had certainly severed both his jugular vein and carotid artery. The rate of blood loss was beyond fatal if nothing was done. Not to mention he never said anything about what damage the hollow powers could do to him. Her gut twisted with sick fear. She didn't know what would happen if a zanpakuto killed its wielder. She didn't want to know.

"You're pathetic, Ichigo." Zangetsu repeated, head shaking. "You're pathetic and you disappoint me." He picked up Ichigo's other sword- the black counterpart to Zangetsu's hollowed weapon. He raised the blade, ready to deal another strike.

Before it made contact, Rukia was there to block. "Enough, Zangetsu-san."

Gold eyes narrowed marginally at the new development, calculating the next move. "What, no _'sama'_? Just _'san'_ now? You're gonna hurt my feelings." Despite his words, he withdrew a step.

She refused to rise to the bait. Her gaze was cold- detached- as she addressed the being in front of her. "That's... enough. You already won. There's no need to inflict further harm on a downed opponent. Even if- as he claims- you cannot kill him." Rukia was starting to believe that assertion less and less.

Zangetsu scoffed, "I gotta teach him a lesson somehow."

"Whatever lesson you are hoping to teach him, I think he gets it by now."

"I'm not so sure he does."

"You said you only force hollowification for a second or two. It's been much more than that. Make it stop." Frustration bled into her tone.

Zangetsu countered it with bitter mirth. "I'm surprised you feel like you're in a position to tell me what to do. Ichigo is stronger than you, and I'm stronger than him. How exactly do you think this is gonna play out? Hmm? And here I thought you were smarter than that." He heaved an exaggerated sigh, "You know, I'm not even angry at you. Sure, you distracted him, but I'm actually pretty grateful that you're here."

"Grateful?" Rukia repeated slowly.

His wild grin reappeared. "Of course! Since you're here, I can do _this!_ "

He vanished again, and Rukia barely had enough time to raise her sword before she was locked in combat. Trying to pay attention to the fight while keeping half an eye on her fallen friend- still a twitching, bloody heap on the ground with a sword through his gut- was proving more difficult than she had hoped.

"You sure you wanna be doing that?" Zangetsu sneered, "You're gonna make the same mistake he did." he made a lunge for her throat. She ducked out of the way, feeling the sharp steel whistle past her ear, too close for comfort. He grinned.

She wanted to argue, but he was right. Her full attention needed to be trained on the fight if she didn't want to end up dead. She was under no illusions that Zangetsu would kill her without a second thought. Her focus sharpened, trying to ignore everything but the battle at hand. The world fell away, leaving her and Zangetsu the only two beings that mattered.

The breath-taking, bone-shattering, heart-pounding choreography of the fight was frantic; the horrible dance of two people trying to kill the other while keeping themselves alive. It was something that Rukia was acutely familiar with. She knew the steps- she had to in order to make it so far as a shinigami. But she grimly came to the realization that it would not be enough: she may be able to read a battle, but Zangetsu _lived_ it. It was clear in every twitch of his muscle; that same predatory movement and lethal grace. The mixture of a hollow and a zanpakuto spirit- an apex predator and a weapon- the need for bloodshed was nestled in his very core.

He let that need drive him.

As soon as Rukia got used to a certain speed and manner of attack, it would change: becoming faster and more erratic. A left-handed strike was awkwardly parried to her right. Finding a weak point, Zangetsu exploited it. He shifted to a fully left-handed approach, abusing Rukia's inexperience against non-right-hand-dominant fighters. She gained a few shallow cuts before she was able to hold him off.

_I'm matching him... for now_ Rukia thought. It was nowhere close to evenly-matched, but for the moment she was at least holding her own.

Zangetsu's homicidal grin stretched further, sharp canines glinting in the moonlight, as if to somehow respond: _Good. Now try to keep up_.

Small gashes opened up on Rukia's skin as Zangetsu stepped it up again. He hadn't exactly been holding back, but he wasn't giving it his all. Rukia could tell that by the fact that she was even able to match his speed. She could push herself a little bit faster, for sure, but against the break-neck speeds at which she had seen Ichigo and his zanpakuto fight earlier? Not a chance. Every successful parry or block by Rukia was something that had been _allowed_ on Zangetsu's part.

Her blood began to run cold as she could feel herself tiring.

-0-

Not far away, Ichigo was still struggling. Though only half-aware of what was happening around him, he knew one thing for certain: Rukia was in danger. Rukia was in _danger_ and it was _his fault_. Somewhere along the line, his thrashing dislodged the sword in his throat and the sickening bloodloss had mercifully ceased, but the hollowification and sword through his stomach still paralyzed him.

_Move!_ He yelled at himself for not the first time. _I have to help her! Or else Zangetsu will-_ He couldn't allow himself to finish the thought. He clawed at the hollow instincts crowding his mind, doing all that he could to push them back and stay aware. The more he struggled, the tighter the snare became.

Rage that wasn't entirely his own filled him, prickling his skin and darkening his thoughts. He was angry at the turn of events- angry at his own ineptitude at wriggling out of Zangetsu's control. He felt weak and dead. It was the fight against Ulquiorra all over again, although this time the hole threatened to tear its way open in his chest was coming from his own soul instead of a black cero. His gut twisted with unease. He had promised himself he would never become that monster again. He had made that resolution fighting against his sword spirits to learn Mugetsu, facing off against his hollow as the source of his despair way back then-

Wait. That was it!

He was thinking of this all wrong; considering Zangetsu as just a hollow and nothing more again. With how sadistic his zanpakuto was, it was easy to forget they were on the same side.

They were on the same side... right?

Ichigo sure hoped so, or else he was about to make a huge mistake.

He took a deep breath, and gave in.

-0-

Blood ran down the side of Rukia's face, flowing freely from a gash on her forehead. Her breath was ragged and she was nearing her limit without using her bankai. The cold of her body in shikai froze the cut, stopping the trickle of hot liquid down her jaw.

"That's a pretty nice power you got there." Zangetsu purred, eying the frost spreading out from her feet. His attention was snagged again by the pure white balde in Rukia's hands. He subtly wished he was using his own pale sword instead of Ichigo's dark one. It would be so much nicer if they matched. Maybe he'd have to switch. Sode no Shirayuki really was breathtakingly beautiful. "Nice and volatile. Gotta be careful with it. I guess you and Ichigo have that in common at least."

Rukia didn't respond. Her frozen state slowed her emotional reactions, leaving only cold logic and tactics free for use. The facts: Zangetsu was fast and powerful. Rukia was wearing thin and was outmatched in a straight up strength test. Outpacing him was also not an option, not with his ludicrous speed. That left subterfuge as her option. It wouldn't be easy- Zangetsu's unpredictable berserk style made it difficult to pull one over on him- but Rukia was nothing if not determined.

A quick block allowed her time to add distance between them. An equally well-timed hakuren pushed Zangetsu to the left, evading the torrent of ice heading his way. He spun, ready to launch another strike, when Rukia's charged Hyapporankan sent him skidding backwards. The spell hit him several times, blue-white rods of reishi stabbing through him and momentarily slowing his movements. Without waiting, Rukia was pushing herself forward, keeping a bit of distance between her and her foe. Her sword raised, ready to strike the hollow before he broke through the bakudo. Zangetsu twitched away from the attack- right where Rukia wanted him.

"San no mai, Shirafune." In an instant, the ice solidified in Rukia's other hand, forming a sword like crystalline glass.

Zangetsu's eyes flashed with barely-hidden shock at the sudden appearance of a second blade. Too late to dodge.

Blood dripped down Zangetsu's face from a long, shallow gash that ran from his nose to just under his right eye. Pale fingers found the cut, and he stared at the red on his fingertips. His expression was unreadable.

She had cut him.

If Rukia's heart wasn't currently frozen completely solid, she was sure it would be fluttering in her chest.

_She had cut him!_

It wasn't deep, but that wasn't for her lack of trying.

"You donned your mask to soften the blow." Her voice was level, flat.

Zangetsu didn't move, entranced by the blood slicked on his fingers.

Rukia studied him, letting the ice sword dissipate back into frost and fog.

Zangetsu blinked once, twice, then smiled. It was small at first, the slightest twitch of a smirk, but it quickly grew malignant. Colorless lips curled into a grin, wild and menacing. He threw his head back and laughed... and laughed... and kept on laughing. Rukia shuddered at the sound. His gaze found her and she couldn't identify the emotion blazing in them- something beyond sadistic elation, closer to madness and edging into pure insanity.

"What was that!? King never mentioned you being able to pull a sword out of thin air. And you even managed to slice through my mask with it." The wicked smile never left his face. "I'm gonna have fun ripping you apart."

Anything else Rukia was thinking of saying was cut off as red filled her vision. Heat rolled over her, choking her lungs and prematurely raising her lowered body temperature. A cero. But not from Zangetsu. Half a moment later, the red was countered by an equal swell of black from the hollow-zanpakuto. The two ceros exploded against each other, and Rukia almost didn't have time to seal herself behind a wall of ice before everything was burned away.

It took a moment for her ears to stop ringing and the bright spots to fade from her sight. She turned, her gaze falling on Ichigo; tracing his figure from the single horn on the left side of his head, down the dark stripe that ran over his gold-on-black eye, and down to the hole in the center of his chest.

"Ichi...go?"

"Took you long enough!" Zangetsu drawled, stepping out of the cloud of dust.

"I can't believe you." Ichigo glowered at the zanpakuto, " _'Lie there and accept it.'_ You're the worst." He tossed the white blade at the spirit.

Zangetsu caught it, returning Ichigo's sword in a similar manner. "Hey it's your own fault for never listening to me. I thought you weren't gonna get it. Would have been more fun if you hadn't."

"It's not like that would have killed me."

"No, you would have just turned fully hollow if you couldn't find it in you to stop fighting it. And then we could've leveled this town together." There was a frightening glint in his eyes, and Ichigo knew his sword wasn't bluffing.

"What is happening?" Rukia spoke up. Two sets of eyes landed on the woman who had been momentarily forgotten. "Ichigo... what _is_ that?"

Ichigo sighed, "This jerk here decided to teach me how to activate my new hollowification form without any outside prodding, and he did it in the most annoying way possible. I guess you've never seen me like this before. I uh, figured out how to do this to beat up that Yhwach guy, but I needed to use his quincy reiatsu to get it started. But now I think I learned how to do it on my own." His attention turned back to Zangetsu, whose expression had settled into a proud smirk. "Now, gonna tell me why the hell you attacked Rukia?"

"To prove a point."

Rukia and Ichigo blinked owlishly.

Zangetsu rolled his eyes. "She's stronger than you give her credit for. You turn a blind eye to what your friends can do and end up sacrificing yourself for people who don't need saving. She could hold her own against me for a while and even managed to land a hit. You really are an idiot if you can't even recognize other people's potential." The two shinigami were stunned by the serious and somewhat thoughtful response. "Besides, I never get to face off against anyone but you and I was looking for a change."

"Alright." Ichigo gripped the hilt tighter ready to spring forward, "Well now that you're done with that, I believe we have a fight to finish."

"Nah." Zangetsu dismissed, waving a hand while resting his sword on his shoulder, "You're not gettin' bankai tonight. I could tell that the moment you showed up with your girlfriend in tow that you'd be too distracted. I figured hollowification was a good enough consolation prize."

"What!?" Ichigo snarled

Rukia interrupted him with a hand on his arm. "Ichigo. Leave it. You can't get bankai out of an unwilling zanpakuto. Plus, I'm pretty sure that explosion blew out the barrier. Again."

They glanced around at the destruction, noting the distinct lack of shimmering walls. Zangetsu beamed with pride at the result of another gran rey cero. He hadn't planned on that one, there had just _happened_ to be blood on his fingers and no time to wipe it off before countering; But he wasn't really complaining about it.

Ichigo, on the other hand, shuddered. _Urahara's gonna kill me for breaking another one_.

"Well, King. Looks like you'll just have to try again tomorrow. You better not get distracted on me again." He shot a look at his wielder, "At least not unless you want me to play more with Rukia. That was fun, by the way." The last sentence was directed at the dark-haired shinigami.

'Fun' was not the word she would have used to describe that.

"You got a good sword there and you know how to use it."

She blushed at the unexpected praise.

"Alright, Ichigo. Send me back already. No use standing around if there's nothing for me to do."

In a small flash of black fire, he was gone. Ichigo waited a beat before allowing his hollowification to melt away. He could feel the hollow energy tingling underneath his skin, ready and waiting for his call.

Ichgio turned to his friend, "Are you okay?"

Rukia nodded, surprised at how not-bad she felt

"Sorry, Rukia." Ichigo's soft tone caught her off guard "Zangetsu is right. You've grown a lot since we first met. You've gotten a lot stronger and I haven't acknowledged that. For that, I'm sorry."

She wanted to make a snarky remark back, but his sincerity and her own exhaustion made her hold her tongue. "Thanks, Ichigo." Her eyes fell to the sword in her own hand, sealing it back into its regular katana. Violet eyes softened at the familiar feeling of cool reiatsu wrapping around her. _I couldn't have done it without you, Sode no Shirayuki._

Rukia was glad to have such a close bond with her zanpakuto. She stole a glance at her friend, hoping that Ichigo and Zangetsu would be able to settle their differences and fight as one someday. The hollow sword seemed brash and unpredictable, but everything he did was carefully calculated. He had recognized their weaknesses- both Ichigo's and her own- and pushed them until compensated and persisted. As sadistic as Zangetsu was, she could tell that he wanted Ichigo to be strong- strong enough to wield his full power and potential. But for that, he demanded perfection.

Still, it was only a matter of time before Ichigo triumphed.

Rukia was sure of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo hit the ground with a hard thud, gasping as the breath was knocked out of him. Pain stabbed through his with each inhale from a large gash across his side. It was deep, but not enough to warrant breaking the fight. He had gotten a very good idea of the extent of injury Zangetsu considered 'fatal,' and this wasn't nearly enough. It was expected for him to keep fighting.

He had long since lost track of how long they had been fighting, not that he really had any moments for spare thoughts among the battle at hand.

A cero obliterated the ground where he had been and he jumped backwards, mindful of the jolt that stabbed through his injured calf. He reacted with a getsuga tensho, wordlessly tossed in the direction of his assailant. It wasn't fast enough. He spun to block the sword heading for his back, charging a retaliatory cero of his own. A pale hand reached towards his face and he reflexively pulled away, only realizing a second too late at what the true aim was as the hand snagged the jagged horn on his temple. He still wasn't used to having to think about that new addition. The bone fragment shattered under the tight grip and Ichigo was thrown back as the energy that had been accumulating burst.

"Brittle." Zangetsu hissed out, disappointed. He lunged.

Pain flared in Ichigo's chest and he looked down, already suspecting what he was going to see: Zangetsu in front of him and half crouched. The dual horns of his black mask and his white blade were pierced through Ichigo's pecs and abdomen; a nice little triangle around his hollow hole.

Ichigo coughed out a curse as blood filled his throat. He slid backwards, cringing when the horns ripped more on the way out.

Zangetsu stood, straightening and watching his King with narrowed eyes. "Get up. You're not done yet." Ichigo would have to take a bit more damage before the hollow-zanpakuto allowed their instant regeneration to do its work.

Ichigo wanted to snap back in pain, but he knew Zangetsu was right. He'd endured worse. Didn't make it any easier to continue fighting with three additional holes in his body, but complaining wasn't tolerated. Evan as he willed his body to move, a heavy weight settled in his limbs, dragging him down and making every effort feel monumental.

A clawed hand around its way around Ichigo's neck. The masked face looming over him was absolutely demonic. If he wasn't used to staring into those dark eye-holes and sinister teeth, he probably would have been scared. The hand around his throat tightened, and when he made a weak escape attempt, a second hand picked up the task of tearing long, slow, scratches down his front. Sharp claws scraped against ribs, hot blood pooling around him.

"Don't tell me you've given up already." Zangetsu's voice was a low snarl, vacant of all of his usual taunting lilt. He slipped his claws into one of the gashes, scratching along the bone and eliciting a pained gasp from his shinigami. "I've broken you more than this before."

"S-Shut... up." Ichigo hissed out, trying his best to drown out the pain. Keeping moving usually allowed him to push through the agony. Being forced to pause meant that the slow torture of his wounds were all he had to focus on. He tasted blood. It took all of his effort to keep from screaming.

Zangetsu withdrew somewhat and Ichigo scrambled to a sitting position, wincing with each motion. A foot connected solidly with his side, sending him sprawling again. The tip of a sword dug into his back, wedging itself under his shoulder blade.

If the sharp twist of the sword wasn't enough to set Ichigo's nerves aflame, the searing heat of a cero being charged against his back did it. This was no longer a fight, this was punishment.

Zangetsu is really pissed.

The barrier shook with the pressure.

Outside the transparent reishi walls, hidden within the undergrowth, Urahara shielded his eyes. Rukia's recounting of the fight she watched- and participated in- had intrigued him, and he wanted to see for himself the destructive power this hollow wielded. The zanpakuto did not disappoint. The young Kurosaki and his sword had been fighting non-stop for a good few hours, according to Kisuke's watch. And what a spectacular display it was.

A giddy sort of curiosity filled the old shinigami. Witnessing a hollow-zanpakuto was an exceptional research opportunity. The scientific part of him wanted nothing more than to get his hands on the zanpakuto and test its limits- see how strong of a kido wall it could obliterate. Everything that happened with Aizen had mostly put him off the idea of messing with hollowification, but he couldn't deny that it was still a curiosity. He sighed, abandoning that daydream before it could spiral out of control. Ichigo would never allow it; the teen had grown somewhat protective of his twisted power after he learned the truth. Zangetsu himself would be even less likely to cooperate, if the brutality happening in front of him was anything to go by. If he treats his own wielder this way, I'd hate to see what he would do to an enemy. Urahara involuntarily shuddered. External observation it was, then. He should have brought some devices to measure the reiatsu output.

A loud shrieking roar snapped Kisuke's attention to his prior student and he frowned, the hollowfied form of Zangetsu wasn't letting up, taking out all of his frustration on the poor young man at his feet. Hopefully he wasn't completely out of control. Just as Urahara was about to intervene, the hollow stopped; muscles shaking with barely-restrained rage.

Ichigo was face-down and struggling to breathe. The agony had ebbed away into a numbness that should have been concerning, were he not thankful for the sweet mercy of not having to feel every single injury. Trying to move broke the spell; his vision flashing white as everything hurt. His form had long since reverted from its hollowification, unable to keep focus on maintaining it in the face of Zangetsu's wrath.

Rather suddenly, The pressure disappeared and he felt the soothing- and slightly disconcerting- experience of instant regeneration sealing up the worst of the damage. Even as the physical agony melted away, an emotional weight settled in his gut. He couldn't see Zangetsu, but he could very well feel the infuriated disappointment in his heavy reiatsu. Failure, it said. He didn't really want to face Zangetsu, but postponing the inevitable was only going to make it worse. With a sigh, Ichigo pushed himself up.

"So..." Zangetsu drawled, lazily dismissing his mask despite the anger that obviously simmered through him. "Are you ready to fight for real, or am I just gonna be wasting more of my time?"

"What's gotten into you!?" Ichigo snapped, despite knowing it would only serve to further rile up his sword.

The hollow balked, whatever he had been planning on saying falling short of his mouth. His teeth grit for a moment before he roared, "What's gotten into me? That's my line! What's gotten into you!? Where's your determination? Where's your killing intent? Do you really expect to cut me with that dull blade of yours? Pathetic! You've been at this for a month now and I'm sick of these weak little displays of so-called strength."

Ichigo growled, but stilled his ire. He wouldn't lash out at the taunts. He wouldn't let his emotions get the better of him.

Gold eyes narrowed to slits as Zangetsu made a deliberate show of sheathing his blade.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo muttered, wary of some sort of trick.

"You're not worth fighting. You don't deserve bankai. Hell, you barely deserve to wield me." He turned, not bothering to grace his wielder even with his attention. "I'm not gonna lend my strength to a King who's weaker than me. Good luck fighting without me."

That did it. Ichigo's wound indignation snapped like a spring. He propelled himself forward. It didn't matter that Zangetsu had sheathed his blade- to hell with proper battle etiquette. The attack bared down on the unsuspecting zanpakuto. A second before he made contact, Zangetsu spun, unsheathed his blade, and clashed against the attack.

The black sword shattered like glass.

Ichigo's eyes went wide, staring down in disbelief at the broken hilt in his hand. "W-what-?" His exclamation was cut off as Zangetsu pressured him. Panic rose as he was suddenly having to defend himself solely with his secondary blade. While Zangetsu had been able to hold his own against Ichigo's dual-wielding with his own single sword, Ichigo found himself struggling without his primary cleaver. A few strong swings from Zangetsu found Ichigo once again on his back, the sharp tip of the white sword hovering menacingly over his heart. Brown eyes traced up the steel, hardly taking note of the steady hand holding it, and finally met Zangetu's burning eyes.

Despite the righteous fire in those gold irises, his expression was back to its usual smirk. "You should've known that wasn't going to work. Don't look so surprised that your sword broke. It was brittle. Just like your hollowification. I told you you're not fit to hold that blade. Be thankful the Old Man still respects you enough," He motioned with his head to the remaining sword in Ichigo's hand, "or you would've been disarmed in more ways than one." The sword tip rested against tan skin, too light to draw blood, but enough for the threat to be pressing.

At the mercy of Zangetsu for a third time that night, Ichigo finally let the fight bleed out of him. When had the hollow become so terrifyingly strong? His mind traced back, trying to find a point where he had struggled this much against him. A week earlier, he was matching the hollow move-for-move, now he felt back at square one.

"Do you know why you can't win?" Zangetsu prompted, seemingly reading his thoughts.

Ichigo fought to roll his eyes, hoping he didn't go off on another 'instincts' lecture.

"Let me ask a different question: why are you fighting me?"

"To get my bankai back, of course." He almost kept the annoyance out of his tone. Almost.

"Exactly. Your motivation is 'bankai' and nothing more. Your drive is shallow. You're not attacking like you really mean it. You're not giving it your all. If earning back your abilities is all you are fighting for, you'll never have a chance against me." The blade withdrew a hairsbreadth, just enough to allow Ichigo room to focus on the words being said.

"I beat you before."

At least his wielder still had confidence. "Yeah, you did. Wanna know why? Because your soul was on the line and you were willing to do anything to survive. You won because you were attacking me with the single-minded desire to kill- because I pushed you to that point. It's a shame I can't do that anymore."

Ichigo pushed the sword away from his chest, glad that Zangetsu didn't retaliate. His brows furrowed in confusion as he got to his feet. "I don't understand you."

"You don't need to. What you do need to understand is yourself. What do you think you are?"

"Oh no. Don't start on all of that 'king' and 'horse' stuff again." Ichigo rolled his eyes, "What kind of a question is that, anyway? I'm a human."

Zangetsu scoffed. "No you're not. You may look and act like a human- Hell, you've done such a good job that you've convinced everyone around you that's what you are- but you can't fool me and it's time you stop trying to fool yourself."

"Get on with it. What's your answer then, since you seem to know so much?"

"You're a hollow. Deep down in the core of your soul, when you strip away everything else, that burning hollow instinct is what you're left with."

Brown eyes went wide, thoughts racing to find a rebuttal "That's-" Before he could say any more, he felt a tugging sensation in his chest. Caused, no doubt, by Zangetsu pulling on their hollow powers. Ichigo dismissed the feeling, giving his sword a mental shove as admonishment.

"Look at yourself. You honestly can't still call yourself human. That hole that opens up in your chest marks your true self more than your mask ever did. Quit fighting against it and accept yourself. You're already halfway there." He crossed the clearing in a few, confident strides.

Ichigo focused his scowl on the grinning spirit in front of him, gripping tighter on the broken hilt of his sword. This was another one of Zangetsu's taunts, a way to get under his skin. It didn't matter what form Ichigo took, Zangetsu was wrong- he had to be.

Zangetsu's eyes shone with something that Ichigo didn't understand. Zangetsu raised an arm, reaching out to do... something. Maybe rest on Ichigo's shoulder, maybe caress his cheek. "We're no different, you and I."

The pale hand was swatted away. "We're nothing alike." Hatred dripped from those words, heavy in the still, tense air. He wasn't a hollow. He wasn't! Even as Ichigo said it, the words of Zangetsu reverberated through him, dredging up old feelings he had long since buried deep.

"Shut up!" Zangetsu snapped, "I've told you this all before, when we fought for dominance! You need battle. You crave bloodshed! The only reason you were able to defeat me that time is you accepted that- for the briefest of moments, you allowed yourself to feel your desire and act on them. But what did you do the second you got me locked up? Went right back to fighting with your head, trying to justify everything you do. Even Grimmjow was able to see that you wanted to fight. So don't go giving me any of that 'we're nothing alike' crap. The only difference between you and me is that I'm not scared of what I want."

"I'm not scared." Ichigo's mind rolled, blood roaring in his ears.

The hollow was right in front of him now. "You can't lie to me, Ichigo. You're terrified."

Then there was a sword buried in Ichigo's chest like a key sliding into a lock. It felt cold, but there was no real pain. Red-white energy flared to life in the empty portion of the blade, racing down like fire towards the incision. His head swam as the unbidden hollowification started. It wasn't like the previous times; the forced change felt almost gentle. The tight coil his instincts were wound into began to relax, flowing freely through his mind.

"S-stop." Ichigo said through gritted teeth, trying to force the wild thoughts away from the forefront of his consciousness.

"Shhhh... King. You're thinking too much again." A pale finger rested tauntingly on Ichigo's lips, distracting him enough to earn his silence. With a smirk, Zangetsu yanked the sword free, pulling out a swirl of red and black and leaving a perfectly-circular hole in its wake. "Just relax and trust me."

Ichigo gasped, feeling the rest of his hollow form click into place. Physically it was no different from his usual one-horned visage, but mentally was a different matter. The world around him was suddenly awash in a violent swirl of energy; a maelstrom of red and black and blue fire surrounding him and his hollow-zanpakuto. Flickers of other colors flitted about here and there, the pale green wisp of an owl overhead- the slight blip of yellow that marked a mouse scurrying into a hole. Even the trees and grass seemed to thrum with an ashy gray haze. A solid blood red burned in the woods closeby. It was beautiful and terrifying and made his head feel fuzzy.

Zangetsu grinned, "Alright. One more time. Let's see if you can find it in yourself to kill me."

The last of the pain had melted away and Ichigo felt invigorated. It didn't even matter that his main sword was broken. The two launched at each other with matching expressions of mania. He lost himself in the push-and-pull of the fight, barely feeling the gashes that were accumulating on his skin. His heart thrummed a fierce drum beat in his chest, pushing blissful adrenaline through his veins and numbing everything that wasn't himself and Zangetsu.

He carved a jagged cut across Zangetsu's chest and marveled at the red-black liquid that poured out.

Is this what he had been missing all this time? Could all his fights have felt this good?

Ichigo didn't want this feeling to end.

At some point, Ichigo wrenched Zangetsu's sword out of his grip, re-claiming the primary blade of the pair. Zangetsu didn't let it bother him, or at least he didn't show it if it did, and switched to using only hollow powers as a form of attack. His black mask appeared again

Power burned under Ichigo's skin, begging for something more. He lept back, swiping the palm of his right hand across the edge of his sword, feeling the hot blood well up. The energy moved through his arm by instinct, crackling into a ball of black and white in his palm. He had fired off a gran rey cero once before, but never had the chance to savor the exhilarating rush that accompanied it. Every hair stood on end as he pushed more into the swirling ball of death. Ichigo's arm lifted, aiming straight at Zangetsu. The sword spirit's expression was unreadable beneath his mask.

Everything froze as Ichigo blinked back to lucidity.

If he let the cero off, the fight would be over. He would be the victor.

But... did he really earn it? Zangetsu had done something to him to lead them to this point.

The cero in his hands bucked, threatening to come undone.

A decision needed to be made.

Not like this.

He drew in a shuddering breath and slowly let the cero dissipate into ambient reishi.

"What did you do to me?" Ichigo said, looking down at his hands.

Zangetsu removed his mask, his expression mildly serious for once. "Let you into my head a bit. Thought you should know what it felt like to really enjoy a battle."

Ichigo decided against prodding on how literal 'letting him into his head' really was; but if that was how Zangetsu experienced the world, it certainly explained some things. Instead he decided to try to make an honest guess. "You were teaching me another lesson, weren't you?"

The hollow smirked. "What's this? You spend a few minutes in my shoes and all of a sudden you have me all figured out, huh? Well then, enlighten me on this supposed lesson I was teaching you."

Ichigo scowled, "You... wanted to show me that it was okay to enjoy a fight. That I have control over myself even in the thick of it."

Zangetsu nodded thoughtfully, "Guess that does kinda sound like something I would do. So, ready to get your bankai back?"

"No." Ichigo couldn't stop the smirk that stretched his own expression, "I'm ready to kick your ass."

Zangetsu smiled in return. He held out a hand and another sword materialized. The new blade was tossed at Ichigo.

It turned black as soon as the shinigami's hands clutched the hilt. "Giving me a second chance?"

"Sure, and if you can beat me I'll even let you keep it."

How many times had they initiated combat just that night? Who knows. It didn't matter. Ichigo let himself just be- clear headed and wanting nothing more than to win. Sparks lit up the dark clearing with every meeting of their blades, blood ran freely from the both of them, everything felt right.

It came as a surprise when it was over.

Zangetsu had attempted to take a chunk out of Ichigo's stomach, and Ichigo in turn had retaliated with a straight-forward stab. The black sword knocked its white counterpart away and found purchase in muscle and bone.

Everything stopped.

Ichigo looked at the sword in his hands, buried almost to the hilt in Zangetsu's chest at an odd angle.

"Ah... almost forgot what that felt like." The pale spirit wheezed, black blood staining his skin and clothes.

Ichigo's eyes softened. It was so much like the end of their fight for dominance, and yet so different. He cradled the spirit close to his chest, supporting his weight and feeling thick blood smear across his front. "Zangetsu... I-"

"S-shut up. You're ruining the moment." He winced as he felt himself beginning to fade away, dragged back into the sideways city. "You better not make me wait so long for another good fight, you hear?"

"I won't."

With the last of his strength, Zangetsu pulled back, meeting Ichigo's eyes with a smirk, "Guess you earned this after all I put you through. Just don't break it this time. I'm not giving you another one."

Ichigo laughed weakly as the rest of Zangetsu faded away. He felt the zanpakuto curl up inside his soul, nestling down into his usual spot. Ichigo was complete again.

The woods were silent and still as he stood, pride welling in his chest. He brought the two swords in front of him, holding them together and channeling his reiatsu through familiar and well-traced paths.

He took a deep breath.

"Bankai."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there wasn't much Rukia in this final chapter. I struggled writing it (still not 100% happy) and I just couldn't fit her into it in a good way.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


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